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Hello! My son is 2 (will be 3 in may) and i am about to start pulling my hair out. He refuses to go to bed at night. We have a very set routine (supper, play time, bath and then bed time) every night. The only way he will go to sleep at night is if one of us will lay down with him. It takes him at least 45-90 minutes to finally fall asleep. Then at some point in the middle of the night, he will come into our room and crawl in with us! I want him to be able to go to bed with out us laying there and to stay there. He shares a room with his sister so he isnt alone but she is very good about going to sleep when its bed time. He is in a toddler bed due to him climbing out of his crib.

does anyone have any tips or hints? i am desparate!

Thanks for your Reply!

4 Replies |Watch This Discussion | Report This| Share this:At my witts end!!Hello! My son is 2 (will be 3 in may) and i am about to start pulling my hair out. He refuses to go to bed at night. We have a very set routine (supper, play time, bath and then bed time) every night. The only way he will go to sleep at night is if one of us will lay down with him. It takes him at least 45-90 minutes to finally fall asleep. Then at some point in the middle of the night, he will come into our room and crawl in with us! I want him to be able to go to bed with out us laying there and to stay there. He shares a room with his sister so he isnt alone but she is very good about going to sleep when its bed time. He is in a toddler bed due to him climbing out of his crib.

All I can say is the sooner you break the habit the better. We made the same mistake with our son when he was young. It was easier to break the habit of staying in his room until he fell asleep when he was in the crib but we started it up again after moving him to his big boy bed. What we do for our daughter right now is lay down with her for a few minutes but warn her that we are going to get up and leave. She is usually fine with that though sometimes she comes out and asks us to lay with her again. I would start by explaining to him - maybe in the morning - that you will not be staying in his room with him until he falls asleep. Remind him again at dinner. Then try laying with him for just 5 - 10 minutes.Then get up and leave. If he gets up, put him back in bed but don't lie down with him. It can be a long process depending on how stubborn he is. I think with our son we transitioned him by leaning against his night stand instead of lying down with him. Then moved to standing by the door - sort of a progression out of the room. And whenever he climbs in your bed at night - I would immediately take him back to his room. I found that with my kids that they complained more when we let them lie with us for awhile.

Thanks for your Reply!

Report This| Share this:At my witts end!!All I can say is the sooner you break the habit the better. We made the same mistake with our son when he was young. It was easier to break the habit of staying in his room until he fell asleep when he was in the crib but we started it up again after moving him to his big boy bed. What we do for our daughter right now is lay down with her for a few minutes but warn her that we are going to get up and leave. She is usually fine with that though sometimes she comes out and asks us to lay with her again. I would start by explaining to him - maybe in the morning - that you will not be staying in his room with him until he falls asleep. Remind him again at dinner. Then try laying with him for just 5 - 10 minutes.Then get up and leave. If he gets up, put him back in bed but don't lie down with him. It can be a long process depending on how stubborn he is. I think with our son we transitioned him by leaning against his night stand instead of lying down with him. Then moved to standing by the door - sort of a progression out of the room. And whenever he climbs in your bed at night - I would immediately take him back to his room. I found that with my kids that they complained more when we let them lie with us for awhile.

Does he still take a nap during the day? We have this problem with our 3 yr. old too but only on days that he takes an afternoon nap. We have started doing quiet time (he goes to his room and plays quietly for an hour) instead of a nap and now he goes to bed without any problems. He may get up once, but we usher him back to bed and he's down for the night.So maybe your little one just isn't tired. I also agree with previous posters about not staying in the room with him.Good Luck

Thanks for your Reply!

Report This| Share this:At my witts end!!Does he still take a nap during the day? We have this problem with our 3 yr. old too but only on days that he takes an afternoon nap. We have started doing quiet time (he goes to his room and plays quietly for an hour) instead of a nap and now he goes to bed without any problems. He may get up once, but we usher him back to bed and he's down for the night.So maybe your little one just isn't tired. I also agree with previous posters about not staying in the room with him.Good Luck

Report This| Share this:At my witts end!!hate to say this but this worked for us. we put a tv in my sons room and i play one of his favorite dvds and he falls right to sleep. i know too much tv and blah blah blah but it really worked for us.

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